Dreaming of a Blonde
by BEthegreat
Summary: Zack wants only one thing this Christmas. Maybe Santa could get it for him? One shot!


**Just some Zack and Maddie fluff for Christmas 2014! Merry Christmas guys!**

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><p>Zack and Cody: 12<p>

Maddie: 15

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><p>"Zack! Cody! Get ready for bed or else Santa won't come!" Carey yelled to her boys while she zipped up her Christmas gown. She rushed around the suite gathering up her purse and other objects for her show. She was performing a Christmas show tonight since it was Christmas Eve.<p>

Zack came out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. "Is Maddie coming to baby-sit?" A slight frown on his face appeared when Carey shook her head no. "She has to watch over her own brother tonight while her parents go out for dinner," Carey explained. He sighed and poofed back into the bathroom to spit.

Once the twins were done and all tucked into bed, Carey kissed them all on the forehead. "Merry Christmas," she whispered and shut the door. As soon as the door clicked shut, Zack sat up in his bed and stared over at Cody who was lying silently in his sheets.

"Cody," he whispered. He waited for a few seconds and continued. "Do you think Maddie is lonely?"

Cody took a second to respond. "I guess?"

Zack sighed. "Cody, I'm serious."

Cody followed Zack and sat up in his sheets in alarm. "Don't tell me that you're thinking of going to visit her at her house."

"I wasn't thinking that. What am I, stupid?" Zack scoffed and Cody looked at him dumbfounded. "Your track record doesn't help defend your case."

Cody heard Zack move his sheets and put his feet on the floor. "Zack!" He hissed. Zack ignored his brother and quietly peeked open their bedroom door.

Cody jumped out of his sheets. "Get back in bed or else Santa isn't going to come!" He was getting frustrated that his brother might cause Santa to skip their floor. "Zack!" He whispered loudly again to try to get his brother's attention. To Cody's luck, it worked and Zack turned around in annoyance. "What!?" He exclaimed under his breath. "I'm just going to call her quickly. Santa will still come." When Cody looked worried, Zack sent him his award-winning smile to help relax him. He knew that he would be fast. Santa would still come.

"You better be right," was all Cody said before he yawned and went back to his warm bed. Zack cracked his fingers and went right to work on his love's phone number. His mother had written her number down near the phone since she was their babysitter. He was thankful for that, otherwise he wouldn't know her number. He did wish it was her cell phone number but he wasn't being picky.

He took a deep breath and dialed in her number. He heard the phone ring and his heartbeat began to pick up. _Relax Zack, _he said to himself. _It's just Maddie._

"Hello?"

Zack almost jumped out of his seat at the sound of her voice. Her voice was just so lovely.

"Hi Maddie," he said cheerfully.

"Zack?" she sounded really surprised that it was him on the phone. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Zack's heart sank as he heard those words. He was not a child; he was almost a teenager! Regardless, he didn't let that question bother him. After all, he was supposed to be saving her from boredom.

"I called you to save you from boredom."

He heard her smile on the other end. "Boredom? What do you mean?"

"Well, you're babysitting Liam so I thought you could use some company," he explained to her. He was slowly getting the feeling that she wasn't as bored as he thought but he tried to push away the embarrassment that was forming in his mind.

"That's so sweet of you Zack," she exclaimed, "but I'm doing okay. I almost fell asleep to be honest with you. Your phone call woke me up."

"Sorry..." he muttered into the phone. He just wanted to hang up. He was extremely upset that she wasn't hoping he would call her and talk to her on Christmas Eve. He thought up a lie and he thought it up quick. "I have to go now. Cody's wanting me to read him a bedtime story."

"Bedtime st-"

"I'll see you tomorrow Maddie. Merry Christmas," he interrupted her but waited for her response after.

"Oh. Goodnight Zack. Merry Christmas to you too."

Zack hung up the phone after her words and placed it back down on the holder. His heart felt weak. He knew that that shouldn't bother him but it did. It got worse the more he thought about it too.

He sighed and leaned back on the couch. He raised his arms in the air and cracked his knuckles. As much as it frustrated him that Maddie didn't think about him as much as he thought about her, he couldn't stop thinking about how amazing he thought she was.

_I better go back to bed, _ he thought and stood up from the couch. He peered over at the clock on the microwave and it read 11:30pm. He hurried to his bedroom and snuck into bed without waking Cody up. He didn't want to be the cause of Santa not coming. That said, he didn't even care if he got any presents. There was only one thing he wanted this year.

Carey asked him what he wanted for Christmas earlier on in the month of December. Cody had asked for cookbooks and manuals but Zack hadn't put down one thing on the kitchen whiteboard.

_"Zack, you haven't put anything down on the whiteboard," Carey stated. "I can't get you any presents for Christmas if you don't let me know what you want." _

_He hung his head before looking his mom in the eye with a determined facial expression. "That's because you can't get the thing I want." _

_Interested, Carey rubbed her boy's hair. "What do you want?"_

_"Maddie." _

_Carey looked down at her son with shock among her features. "Maddie?" Zack shook his head yes. "Maddie." _

_Carey chuckled to herself which made Zack sad. He knew his wish list was hard to get but he wanted Maddie to like him back more than anything. "Mom, I'm serious," he stated with force. _

_"Honey," she began. Zack huffed. Here it comes. _

_"I know you like Maddie." She got down on her knees and looked her son in the eyes. "But you can't take her like you can with a present." _

_"I know," he said. "That's why I told you that you can't get me what I want for Christmas. I don't want anything else..." he trailed off and Carey smiled slightly. "Are you sure there isn't anything else you want for Christmas?" He nodded. "I'm sure."_

Zack slowly closed his eyes and tried to smile. It was Christmas Eve and he didn't want to ruin the mood. He loved Christmas and he loved Maddie. He still wanted to have a good time. After all, why should this rejection be any different than the ones he received everyday? He didn't want to ruin Christmas. It only came once a year.

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><p><em>Creak...<em>

_Crack..._

SNAP!

Zack's ears twitched as his eyes fluttered open at the sudden noises. They were faint but his ear picked them up. Was Cody getting up early to open presents early? Was his mom home?

He slowly sat up in his bed and grabbed a flashlight out of his bedside table. He shined the light on Cody's bed and Cody was still sleeping soundly under the covers. If Cody was still sleeping, then where were those noises coming from? He slid out of his bed and placed his feet on the floor. He stopped to see if he could hear any more noises. His ears caught sounds of bags rustling. He tiptoed over towards the door and peaked into the living room. As soon as he saw a glimpse of red, his heart started beating quickly.

SANTA!?

He almost yelled but grabbed his mouth shut with his fingers. He covered his gasps and stood as still as a statue. If Santa caught him, he could ruin Christmas! He kept watching the big man bending over to place gifts under the tree. Nothing could pull his eyes away from the image. He was just as big as legends said and he was certainly real.

Zack stepped out into the hallway to try and get a better look. As soon as his put pressure on his stepping foot, a loud crack sound emitted from the floor. His eyes suddenly widened and he felt his heart stop as Santa's eyes met his. He didn't know what to do. Should he run? Should he apologize? Should he pretend to faint!?

Santa looked shocked as well and he just froze in his position as he stared at Zack with a straight face. Zack kept frozen as well and stared back. Zack couldn't believe what was happening. He actually saw Santa Claus! He felt like he should wake up Cody so he could see the miracle too but he felt bad for Santa. He looked nervous and Zack knew that he shouldn't even be up as late as it was then.

Zack was in the wrong.

"I-I'm sorry Santa!" He cried out but Santa put a finger to his lips. Zack hushed up immediately as he realized that he risked waking Cody up if he continued to speak at the volume he had just spoke at. Zack watched with a shaky body as Santa slowly approached him. Zack froze in his spot and Santa held out a glove covered hand at him without saying anything. Zack just stood there with a mix of fear and shock as he studied Santa's face. He had such a clear complexion and he had brown eyes. His beard was 100% real and Zack was so amazed being so close to the one and only Santa Claus!

Santa grabbed Zack's hand gently and without saying anything, gently pulled him towards the Christmas tree and away from the twin's bedroom door. Once they arrived, Santa got down on one knee and studied Zack carefully. With a deep voice he said, "what did you want for Christmas, Zack?"

Zack's eyes widened at the mention of his name. How did Santa know his name!?

"H-How did you know my name?" He asked and Santa let out his signature chuckle. "I know the names of all the good boys and girls." Santa reached into his giant sack and pulled out a present in the shape of a box. He handed it to Zack and Zack tilted his head in confusion. "What's in here?"

Santa winked. "You'll have to wait until morning."

Zack shook his head and handed the gift back. "You can keep it or give it to another kid. It can't be what I want." It was Santa's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

Zack sighed. He knew that Santa couldn't even give him the gift he wanted badly. But he wanted to tell Santa and ask him for advice. He always managed to make children around the world happy with his gifts. Maybe he could figure out a way to make Maddie fall for him.

"My Christmas wish is different." Santa patted Zack on the back. "What is it?"

Zack took a deep breath before speaking. "There's this girl I really like," he started. "But she doesn't like me back."

Santa stuttered for a moment before managing to speak. "Oh?"

Zack peered into Santa's brown eyes with plead. "Please. Can you do something to help?"

Zack saw Santa hesitate but didn't stop his gaze. "She doesn't like me back because I'm too young for her." He looked down at the floor. "I get it but I know I'm right for her. I just know it."

Santa patted Zack on the head. "I'm sure she thinks you're special."

Zack sighed. "She tells me that all the time but-"

Before Zack's very own eyes, he felt Santa's lips against his cheek. He froze in complete shock and didn't know what to do. Santa Claus, the big man, gave him a kiss!

He stared Santa right in the eyes with his mouth open wide. He tried spitting out words but nothing came out. Santa flashed him a smile. "Go back to bed before your mom gets home."

As if in some kind of trance, Zack nodded his head yes. Santa stood up and repositioned his sack on his shoulder. He watched as Zack walked back to his room. He stopped at the door and turned around to face Santa. "W-What was that for?"

Santa merely flashed him a jolly old smile. "Merry Christmas Zack."

Zack stood dumbfounded at his door. Why did Santa kiss him!? He watched Santa place the last gift under the tree. He then got up, placed his sack on his shoulder and gave Zack a quick wave. As he was leaving the Martin's suite, Zack caught a glimpse of blonde coming from his hat.

"Santa! Wait!" He cried out, not caring about waking Cody up. Santa left out the door so Zack ran over towards it. He peeped his head out in the hall but there was no trace of Santa anywhere.

He could have sworn he saw a blonde colour coming from his hat. Maybe it was gold or magic dust for the sleigh to make it fly? Zack wasn't sure but what he did know is that he was definitely going to tell Cody about his adventure on Christmas morning.


End file.
